October consumer prices rose 0.4%, the third straight monthly gain of at least 0.4%, according to data reported by Reuters. Economists polled by the outlet had expected 0.3%. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.3% for the third month in a row against a forecast of 0.2%. Shelter accounted for more than 30% of the monthly increase.
Hot Inflation Reading Hardens Rate Hike Bets
The report changed the rate debate almost immediately. Fed Governor Christopher Waller said in a London speech that a 50-basis-point hike should be considered if core CPI rose 0.3% or more, and that “Hiking only 25 basis points would put our credibility at risk.” The Fed left its policy rate at 3.75%-4.00% in October and meets again on December 8-9.
Markets now fully price in at least a 25-basis-point hike in December, and CME FedWatch put the chance of a 50-basis-point move at 11.8%, up from zero a day earlier. Investors hunting for stocks with room to climb in this setting can start with 8 Best NYSE Stocks with Huge Upside Potential, one of our recent lists.
Capital Economics economist Thomas Ryan said, in comments reported by Yahoo Finance, that the strength in core prices was broad-based rather than a one-off, which should all but confirm a December hike with a rising risk of a larger one. Deutsche Bank chief economist Matt Luzzetti expects 25-basis-point hikes in December, January and March.
Yields Jump as Strategists Turn Cautious
Bond markets took the hit first. The 2-year Treasury yield jumped by the most in 19 months, and the 10-year briefly topped 5%, Bloomberg reported. Columbia Threadneedle portfolio manager Ed Al-Hussainy said the 2-year could climb back toward its end-of-September peak just shy of 5%. It closed Tuesday at 4.73%.
Stocks had slumped the week before as fears grew that new regulation could dent the AI trade after the Democrats’ sweeping election victory, then rallied on Monday as oil prices fell. On Wednesday, the Dow rose 0.5%, the S&P 500 gained 1.3% and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.6%, which erased the Nasdaq’s post-election losses. Analyst ratings offer another angle on a market this unsettled, and our roundup of 10 Best Affordable Stocks to Buy According to Wall Street Analysts covers it.
Bank of America strategist Savita Subramanian said of the S&P 500 for 2027, “We’re not particularly bullish on the index.” She also warned that investors are already heavily invested in equities, so outflows from index funds would pose a risk.
Photo by Pascal Bernardon on Unsplash
Our Methodology
To compile this list, we reviewed analyst rating upgrades announced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026. We have ranked these stocks in ascending order of their average upside potential, as of November 10. Average upside potential is the gap between a stock’s price and its average analyst price target. We also list each stock’s number of hedge fund holders as of Q2 2026, from our database of 1,006 hedge funds.
At Insider Monkey, we are obsessed with what hedge funds do. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Insider Monkey’s quarterly newsletter strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 612% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 375 percentage points (see more details here).
Buy Alert: 10 Stocks Analysts Upgraded on Wednesday
10. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Market Cap: $5.17 trillion
Average Upside Potential: -3%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 169
China Renaissance analyst Jack Zhou upgraded Apple from Hold to Buy on November 11 and set a $425 price target. His reasoning centers on growth potential from the company’s first foldable iPhone and its other businesses. The iPhone Duo, priced at $1,999, sold out after launch, and orders now stretch into January.
Apple makes the iPhone, Mac, iPad, wearables and a Services business, and the foldable arrives at a strong moment. Fiscal 2026 revenue reached a record $479 billion, and management has guided to the best holiday quarter in company history. Greater China sales rose from a year earlier, and touchscreen Macs and a new Siri round out the holiday lineup. The Duo’s first full sales will not show up until the next report, and some investors are watching Services, where growth has slowed.
Valuation is the other half of the debate, with shares near 38 times earnings and above the average analyst target, while Zhou’s price target sits well above the current share price. We looked at how well-known investors weigh that tradeoff in Billionaire Ken Fisher and Jim Cramer Still Like Apple (AAPL). Should You?
9. Unilever (NYSE:UL)
Market Cap: $141.71 billion
Average Upside Potential: 0%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 38
Deutsche Bank analyst Tom Sykes upgraded Unilever from Hold to Buy on November 11 and lifted his London price target to 5,350 pence. He sees longer-term transformation potential, confidence in near-term earnings, and a liquidity benefit that lets the stock hedge AI risk inside a balanced portfolio. Sykes still sees structural and cyclical pressure across the staples group.
His forecast is for like-for-like growth of 4.6% in home and personal care next fiscal year, with a small gain in margin. The maker of Dove, Hellmann’s and Vaseline is also reshaping itself. McCormick agreed to combine with Unilever’s food business in a $44.8 billion deal expected to close next year, and the UK competition regulator is reviewing it.
Third-quarter underlying sales rose 5.2%, led by emerging markets, with India and Brazil strong, while the food business was roughly flat and home care grew fastest. The quarterly dividend rose from a year earlier. Management raised its volume outlook for the year. Whether that pruning unlocks growth is a question we explored in Unilever (UL) is Pruning Its Portfolio. Could That Unlock Growth?
8. Republic Services (NYSE:RSG)
Market Cap: $75.96 billion
Average Upside Potential: 4%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 58
JPMorgan analyst Tami Zakaria upgraded Republic Services from Neutral to Overweight on November 11 and raised her December 2027 price target to $295. Her argument is that solid waste volume growth should turn positive in 2027 after three years of declines.
The third-quarter report supports the shift. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.94 per share, and small and large container volumes each gained 50 basis points, the first time in more than three years that both rose together. Management raised full-year guidance on the back of it. The board also authorized a larger share repurchase program, and the company keeps adding businesses through acquisitions. Its Environmental Solutions unit, which handles hazardous and PFAS-related waste, grew revenue sharply. Recycled commodity prices per ton also ran well above the prior year.
Republic collects and recycles commercial, industrial and residential waste and runs landfills across the US. It has also set a target of $100 million in added earnings from AI pricing tools by 2028. Republic Services (RSG) Is Winning On Price While Volumes Slip traced the volume problem this upgrade bets is ending.
7. Gladstone Investment (NASDAQ:GAIN)
Market Cap: $604.90 million
Average Upside Potential: 11%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 4
Ladenburg Thalmann analyst Christopher Nolan upgraded Gladstone Investment from Neutral to Buy on November 11 with a $17 price target. The call follows the lender’s fiscal second-quarter report, where attention fell on the exit of SFEG, a portfolio company sold after the quarter ended. Management said the proceeds are expected in the third or fourth quarter of the fiscal year, after SFEG sold its operating subsidiary to Enerpac Tool Group.
Gladstone Investment is a business development company that lends to, and buys stakes in, lower middle market businesses. Its SFEG equity stake is expected to produce the largest capital gain in the company’s history and could fund supplemental distributions. Net asset value rose to $16.43 per share, while adjusted net investment income of $0.18 per share fell short of the consensus estimate.
The monthly payout is backed by spillover income that covers about six months of distributions. Management also pointed to a new McFarlane Toys investment and said the portfolio has no software exposure. Monthly payers like this one are the subject of 10 Best Dividend Stocks with Monthly Payout, one of our recent lists.
6. BILL Holdings (NYSE:BILL)
Market Cap: $4.64 billion
Average Upside Potential: 12%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 48
UBS started coverage of BILL Holdings with a Buy rating and a $64 price target on November 11. The firm calls it the rare public pure play on business-to-business payments and expects low double-digit to mid-teens core revenue growth, with earnings compounding faster than revenue. It credits an improving go-to-market motion, a better customer mix, deeper monetization and operating leverage, and says continued share buybacks add to the case.
BILL sells software that helps small and midsize businesses handle payables, receivables and spend, and it runs a payments network of suppliers and buyers around its customers. The latest quarter supports the efficiency story: core revenue grew 14% and non-GAAP operating margin reached 39%. Headline revenue missed estimates only because an accounting change now nets card rewards against revenue. Management raised its full-year earnings outlook and repurchased about $305 million of stock.
Investors are weighing that profit push against slowing card growth and a sales restructuring management still describes as unfinished. We looked at why earnings are outpacing revenue in BILL (BILL) Is Growing Earnings Faster Than Revenue. What Is Driving the Gap?
5. Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA)
Market Cap: $4.94 billion
Average Upside Potential: 15%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 44
Raymond James analyst Ryan Deschner upgraded Liquidia from Outperform to Strong Buy on November 11 and raised his price target to $77. He cited the continued strength of the Yutrepia launch, with accelerating shipments, strong referral-to-start conversion and a growing prescriber base, with the share of monthly referrals that become patient starts staying high. October shipments were the highest since launch, and he considers the legal overhang removed after the settlement.
Liquidia makes Yutrepia, an inhaled dry-powder treprostinil for pulmonary arterial hypertension. Third-quarter net product sales reached $222.7 million, up 31% from the prior quarter, though a $389.7 million settlement charge with United Therapeutics pushed GAAP results to a loss. The settlement also removed PH-ILD from the label, and the company expects to fund the payments from Yutrepia sales and cash on hand.
Deschner expects some volatility over the next few quarters as the launch settles under a PAH-only label. He raised his estimates for Yutrepia and the L606 candidate, and Needham lifted its target the same day. Biotech names favored by large investors are the focus of 10 Best Biotech Stocks to Invest In According to Billionaires.
4. Mercury Systems (NASDAQ:MRCY)
Market Cap: $5.38 billion
Average Upside Potential: 24%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 33
JPMorgan analyst Seth Seifman upgraded Mercury Systems from Neutral to Overweight on November 11 and set a $102 price target after the company’s fiscal first-quarter report. The rating moved up even as the target came down from its earlier level.
Mercury builds processing, power and secure electronics for defense programs, including missile defense and space. Revenue grew 12.4% to a first-quarter record, bookings grew even faster, net debt fell from a year earlier, and backlog reached a record near $2.1 billion. CFO Dave Farnsworth also added the chief operating officer title. Adjusted EBITDA grew 58.6%, and management raised its outlook for fiscal 2027.
Investors had long wanted proof that the company’s turnaround was converting into demand, and the latest quarter gave them more of it. Mercury is also working with a software partner on AI tools for material planning and factory operations, aimed at converting backlog faster. The shares rose the day after the report, and hedge fund ownership of the stock has edged up recently. Mercury Systems (MRCY) Is Sitting On A Record Pile Of Orders was our take on the backlog build, which the new quarter extended.
3. Delek US Holdings (NYSE:DK)
Market Cap: $4.07 billion
Average Upside Potential: 26%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 41
Freedom Broker analyst Sergey Pigarev upgraded Delek US Holdings from Hold to Buy on November 11 and nudged his price target up to $88. He credited a strong third quarter built on wider crack spreads, full runs at all four refineries and higher margin capture. Crack spreads, the gap between crude costs and the price of refined fuels, widened in the quarter, and he expects earnings to fall as they normalize.
Delek refines crude oil into fuels at four US refineries. Adjusted net income nearly doubled to $843.0 million in the quarter, and the company used the cash to cut net debt. The board raised the quarterly dividend by about 18% and stepped up buybacks, with $100 million planned for the fourth quarter.
Delek also expects roughly $425 million of small-refinery-exemption proceeds in the fourth quarter and plans to repay its term loan. Raymond James trimmed its target the same week while keeping an Outperform rating on the stock. Refiners sit alongside other energy names in 10 Energy and Power Stocks Drawing Strong Reactions From Jim Cramer, a list we published recently.
2. Alpha Tau Medical (NASDAQ:DRTS)
Market Cap: $1.30 billion
Average Upside Potential: 46%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 15
Piper Sandler analyst Allison Bratzel upgraded Alpha Tau Medical from Neutral to Overweight on November 11 and raised her price target to $22 from $8, reversing a Neutral call she made earlier this year. She described Alpha DaRT as a differentiated local alpha-radiation platform with potential across several solid tumors, and she expects a catalyst-rich year ahead.
Alpha Tau is an Israeli clinical-stage company whose Alpha DaRT places tiny alpha-emitting seeds directly inside tumors. Its ReSTART trial, a US pivotal study in recurrent cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, has finished enrolling its patients. The company has begun a modular application to the FDA, where the therapy holds Breakthrough Device Designation.
The upgrade comes after a large move for a clinical-stage developer, with shares up about 177% this year. The company held about $100.64 million in cash at last report. Barclays also rates the stock Overweight, and the clinical program extends to cancers of internal organs. Alpha Tau is expected to report third-quarter results around November 19. Cancer-focused names like this one are covered in 11 Best Cancer Stocks to Invest In Now.
1. Capricor Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CAPR)
Market Cap: $652.32 million
Average Upside Potential: 137%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 32
Jones Trading analyst Catherine Novack upgraded Capricor Therapeutics from Hold to Buy on November 11 with a $25 price target, calling the risk and reward asymmetric ahead of the FDA decision on deramiocel, due later this month. She puts the odds of a complete response letter at 65%, with downside near 70%, and sees about 2.5 times upside if the drug is approved.
Capricor develops deramiocel, a cell therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. An FDA advisory committee opposed the cardiomyopathy indication earlier this year, so the company refocused its application on upper-limb skeletal muscle function after HOPE-3 data. The FDA inspection ended with a Form 483 listing a single observation, and Capricor plans to launch on its own, without NS Pharma, with arbitration over that dispute expected next year.
Capricor reported third-quarter results the day before the upgrade, and a group of clinicians treating Duchenne patients has written to the FDA in support of the therapy. Shares jumped about a quarter on the call. Could New Long-Term Data Support Capricor’s Duchenne Therapy? was our earlier look at the data behind the case.
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